4/04/18

Pineapple Casserole

A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. JUMP TO THE RECIPE
  2. INGREDIENTS LIST
  3. HELPFUL RECIPE NOTES
Pineapple Casserole! A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

This easy little casserole is a huge favorite with my entire family. When we have ham, we MUST have Pineapple Casserole with it.

We MUST.

It’s the RULE.

Period.

Even my meat-and-potatoes husband has to have it. There’s just something about the sweet pineapple and cheddar cheese that goes with ham.

Pineapple Casserole! A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

We kinda had a weird Easter this year… Mama and Daddy are both dealing with some medical issues so we decided to have Easter dinner at my house. I’ve been crazy busy with work and our own hectic schedule (three baseball tournaments back to back to back three weekends in a row before Easter – Lord, help me) and then some kind of flu-like crud jumped on me last week so our planning went something like this…

Me: OK, I’ll do Easter at my house.

Mama: What can I bring?

Me: Not a thing. I got it.

Mama: What are you going to cook?

Me: Ham and stuff.

Mama: What stuff?

Me: I don’t know yet… whatever I can pull off between now and then.

Mama: hmmph... [obviously rethinking her decision to hand over Easter dinner to me]

Pineapple Casserole! A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

We usually sit down a week or two before a big “eating” holiday and map out everything we’re going to cook, who’s gonna cook what and when it’s gonna get cooked. But with the way things have been going around here, I just stuck with the basics.

And I bought a frozen pie. Don’t tell anybody.

Anyway, when Mama and Daddy arrived Sunday I got so tickled because she came in toting a sleeve of crackers, a block of cheddar cheese and a can of pineapple and I knew exactly what it was for.

We might be winging Easter dinner but Mama was going to make sure we had Pineapple Casserole!

Pineapple Casserole! A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

INGREDIENTS LIST FOR PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE

  • Canned pineapple (chunks or tidbits)
  • Sharp cheddar cheese
  • Melted butter
  • Butter crackers
  • Flour (AP or SF is fine)
  • Sugar
Pineapple Casserole! A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

NOTES ON PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE

  • A small pie plate works great for this recipe!
  • I use Ritz or Townhouse crackers.
  • This recipe doubles beautifully! Just use a larger baking dish then cook about 5 minutes longer. 
  • If using pineapples in heavy syrup, reduce sugar to 1/3 cup. 
  • You can use self-rising or all-purpose flour – we’re just using it as a binding agent.
  • I say to use cracker “crumbles” instead of “crumbs” because I like the crackers to stay kinda chunky – not to be crushed too fine.
  • I always use sharp cheddar when I make this because I think it goes so well with the sugar and sweet pineapple.

Recipe for Pineapple Casserole

Pineapple Casserole

Pineapple Casserole
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min
A sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked ham.

Ingredients

  • 1 20-oz can pineapple chunks or tidbits in juice
  • 1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups butter cracker crumbles, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a shallow 1-quart baking dish with cooking spray or rub with butter.
  2. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice.
  3. Combine reserved juice and flour in a bowl then mix until smooth. Add sugar, drained pineapple and cheese then stir until combined.
  4. Gently stir in 1/2 cup cracker crumbles then spoon mixture into baking dish.
  5. Stir remaining cup of cracker crumbles with melted butter then spread evenly over pineapple mixture.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and crackers are starting to brown.

Notes

  • A small pie plate works great for this recipe!
  • This recipe doubles beautifully! Just use a larger baking dish then cook about 5 minutes longer. 
  • If using pineapples in heavy syrup reduce sugar to 1/3 cup. 
  • You can use self-rising or all-purpose flour – we’re just using it as a binding agent.
  • I say to use cracker “crumbles” instead of “crumbs” because I like the crackers to stay kinda chunky – not to be crushed too fine.
  • I always use sharp cheddar when I make this because I think it goes so well with the sugar and sweet pineapple.
pineapple, casserole, southern, cheese, cheddar, recipe, best, side dish, ritz, crackers, with ham, tidbits, chunks
side dish, casserole
american, southern
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26 comments:

  1. I rarely buy Ritz crackers, but for some reason decided to buy 2 boxes (BOGO) and some cheese yesterday. I even have a ham in my fridge. Pinning this!

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  2. This is one of our favorite casseroles and a "must do" for all the holidays/family gatherings. Plus, this is a great brunch dish and have even had it for breakfast with sausage biscuits! YUM

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  3. My mother in law makes us all our own birthday cake/dessert each year, and every year I ask for this. She tries to tell me this was a side dish for Sunday dinners, but I didn't care, I NEED my own and not share with anyone.

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    1. I never thought to have it as dessert! I bet it would be DIVINE with vanilla ice cream!

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    2. OH YESSSS ...

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    3. I eat it for breakfast, Lunch, supper and all points in between.

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  4. I need to try this recipe soon! It sounds delicious!

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  5. Years ago my Aunt Carol brought this to one of our church Thanksgiving potluck dinners and when she explained what it was ...we looked at her like she had two heads....until we tried it. Imagine myself and my two gracious, Southern sisters trying to elegantly scurry back to where the dish was to snag lady-like seconds without causing much of a scene(impossible).Thank you for jogging that memory and sharing your recipe, I can't wait to surprise them with it at the next family dinner.

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  6. This was so amazing. I wanted to try it, but then got weirded out by the ingredients. Thankfully my boyfriend convinced me we should give it a try. I can't believe how good it was. Thanks so much for sharing.

    It may be common in the south, but here in Canada, it is truly a unique recipe.

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  7. Oh my glob. We all absolutely LOVED this for Mother's Day. Then, when I had cold (I hate re-heating stuff hah!) leftovers for lunch at work yesterday... Oh my, WHAT WITCHERY IS THIS?! It was like CANDY! I wanted more, more and more. Definitely a keeper, thanks for the recipe. Martine :)

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    1. LOL I'm getting that on a t-shirt! WHAT WITCHERY IS THIS?!

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  8. will this work in a slow cooker? too hot for oven

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  9. Can this be made it the slow cooker?

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  10. This dish was amazing! Everyone loved it! Tripled the recipe and am wondering if you can freezer the leftovers. (Sis-in-law has asked that we bring them to New Year’s Day dinner).

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  11. Can this be made ahead of time?

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  12. I LOVE this! It's a must with every spiral ham dinner. My secret is...with the extra pineapple juice leftover, I put it in a glass with a shot of Malibu rum and have a little drinky when cooking LOL! Cooking a whole meal for a ton of people can be stessful....this makes it a little more ;)

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  13. My goodness! This is my new favorite recipe. I decided to try it because my husband loves pineapple. I didn't expect to find this dish so delicious. It was perfect for my Easter dinner with the ham, and I tried your hashbbrown casserole too. So much for leftovers! You're amazing! Thank you!

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  14. I really had to say how much I love this recipe. I made it to have something different with ham. My husband loved it so much he nearly ate the entire dish. This was quick and easy but you would never know by the taste. Thank you for sharing your recipes.

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  15. Angie Harrison10/18/22, 4:36 PM

    I have to TOTALLY agree with DEM O'Malley's......If you can control yourself and stay out of it long enough for it to stay in the refrigerator overnight, OMGOODNESS!! OMGOODNESS!! That stuff is AMAZING! I grew up here in SW Georgia and this was always around at church functions and family reunions so when I decided to make it I doubled the recipe and I'm so glad I did otherwise I'd have never discovered the magic that happens overnight!

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  16. Hi, I have made your recipe before. I thought it was delicious! I really enjoyed it, I couldn't stop eating it. I must say it must be an acquired taste, I don't know, but my daughter and grandchildren did not like it. Oh well,.. there was just more for me! Southern Living says this recipe is on every southern table, but I'm from South Louisiana (Cajun Country) and I had never heard of the recipe.

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  17. So the buttery crackers you use are REGULAR RITZ CRACKERS?

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  18. Absolutely delicious! Made it for the first time Christmas Day to go with our ham. This is a must with ham.

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  19. I always use the tidbits… you won’t be disappointed!!!

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy